John Anthony PARK
He was born in Preston, Lancashire and was considered to be the star pupil at Julius OLSSON and Algernon Mayow TALMAGE's school (1902-04), then trained in Paris at Colarossi's under Delacluse before returning to St Ives in 1906. He sold Street St Ives at NAG in the summer of 1910.
In 1912 and 1913 Park used a Polperro exhibiting address. He may not have been a full-time resident, over-wintering either in Plymouth or Brixton, but he took a studio in the Coombes, Polperro, from July to September each year, and ran painting classes in the village. The vast majority of his output during those years, and in 1914, were Polperro scenes.
With his distinctive rendering of colour and light, he was best known for his brilliantly coloured impressionistic depictions of boats in St Ives harbour. he was also a painter of still life. In WWI he served in East Surrey Regiment, and married his wife Peggy in 1919. The couple lived in St Ives by 1921, moving to 3 Bowling Green in 1923. In the Show Day of 1924, he exhibited with the paintings he was sending away to the RA. They included the largest, Drying Sails, another of St Ives with the herring fishing in full swing, Herring Time St Ives, and the third, Souvenir from France, depicting the entrance to the harbour of La Rochelle.
Nowadays, he is probably the most highly regarded of the St Ives resident members of STISA at that time. He moved to London 1933, where his studio in Maida Vale was close to that of Dorothea SHARP and Marcella SMITH. But he returned to St Ives in 1940, where he felt more at home. Sadly, he died almost penniless in Preston, his wife having predeceased him (1957, Torquay). Sven BERLIN said, "He painted like an angel - simply cathedrals of light." WORMLEIGHTON celebrated his life with his biography, Morning Tide: John Anthony Park and the Painters of Light.
media
Painter of still life and sea paintings
works and access
Likenesses: Tate (1985) Photo c1920, p137; Photo together with Francis ROSKRUGE and Fred MILNER [in] Tovey (2003) p263;
Works incl: St Ives Harbour (oil on canvas); St Ives Harbour (commemorating the visit of HMS Howe, July 1947) both in collection of St Ives Town Council; The Inner Harbour, Polperro; Near Polperro (1914)
exhibitions
St Ives 1909, March 1923
NAG 1932
PARIS SALON 1923
Oldham Municipal Gallery 1924
Spring Exhibition City of Hull Art Gallery, 1924
Posthumous:
1989: A Century of Art in Cornwall 1889-1989, CCC Centenary, Truro
1992: Royal West of England Academy, Bristol: Artists from Cornwall exh
memberships
ROI: 1923; STISA: 1927-1959; Founder member RBA: 1934
references
Personal bibliography: Wormleighton (1998) Morning Tide - John Anthony Park and the Painters of Light incl extensive bibliography & list of RA pictures exhibited
General:
Benezit
Buckman (2006) Artists/Britain since 1945
Chanter, C (2012) His Beloved St Ives, The Painter Gerard Wagner (photos & painting images)
Chantry Bequest list: Tate On-line
Crespon-Halotier
Hardie (1995) 100 Years/Diary
Hardie (2009) Artists/Newlyn & West Cornwall pp253-4 (col pl: Penberth Cove) incl NAG sales record
Johnson & Greutzner
Newton et al Painting at the Edge
Public Catalogue Foundation (PCF) Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly: Oil Paintings in Public Ownership
RWE (1992) Artists from Cornwall Exh cat
Tate (1985) St Ives 1939-64: 25 Years of Painting, Sculpture & Pottery, biog notes p137
Tovey (2000) GF Bradshaw & STISA, Appendix 3: Principal Members of STISA (1927-1960)
Tovey (2003) Creating a Splash
Tovey (2009) St Ives/Social History
Tovey, David (2021) Polperro - Cornwall's Forgotten Art Centre - Vols 1 & 2, Wilson Books
Whybrow (2013) St Ives: The Story of Porthmeor Studios;